Hearthware
Gourmet Coffee Roaster

The Hearthware
Home Innovations Gourmet is no longer made though you might find one
on Ebay from time to time.

The new Hearthware
I-Roast is in stock as of 5/25/04 - you can find more information on this
page.

The Hearthware Gourmet model home coffee roaster was a straight-forward
roasting appliance, similar to the old Sirocco roasters made by Siemens
in the '70s and '80s--coffee roasts in a hot air stream and in a glass
orb, and chaff is neatly collected in the lid.

Like a hot air corn popper, this is a "fluid bed" roaster.
The roast profile seems more like a convective process to me than a hot air popcorn
popper based on the results. Bean agitation has been orchestrated by dissimilar
vent sizes and an eccentricly centered rotation in the bottom plate of the roast
chamber.

The capacity is 1/2 cup (measurer provided) or 3 oz. by weight.
You can get a way with roasting a bit more because Hearthware has apparantly upped
the fan speed on these newer batches of roasters. But I would not go over a rounded
1/2 cup scoop, or 4 oz., whichever comes first.

Roasts are even and consistent,
from bean to bean and roast to roast. Air flow is important for consistency between
roasts, so you need to keep the batch sizes the same (with the handy measuring
scoop provided) and the chaff screen clean (takes a few seconds to clean with
the handy brush included).

Be aware that this model does not vary the airflow
like the Precision model, so it is more like
an electric air popcorn popper, with the addition of a timer and a cool cycle.
We have found that the Gourmet has a more rapid air flow and can roast a little
more than the level 1/2 cup measure (included with roaster).

The Gourmet
is also quite a howler ... it is loud. You might drive your spouse or roomates
nuts if you roast in your kitchen every night and they will banish you to the
basement. If loudness is a big problem, check out the
Freshroast Plus.

It's easy
to operate and clean. You can alter roast times by simply turning the timing dial
mid-roast. There's a 2 minute cooling cycle built in. Total full city roast time
including cooling seems to be 8 minutes. Chaff collection is excellent. A few
fine chaff particles seem to pass through the lid collector early in the roast
but otherwise it's very effective. Here's an exploded
diagram of the roast chamber.Why the heck would someone
buy the more basic Gourmet? Well, it is straightforward. The Precision is the
right machine for 90% of you, but the Gourmet is fast, quicker to dump a batch
and start a new one, and its simplicity means all coffee is being treated the
same by the roaster --important for cupping.

One last
thing ...parts are available for this roaster as they are for the other Hearthware
model. The entire top end --the whole roast chamber assembly, handle, chaff collector,
etc. is available from Hearthware. Hearthware offers a one-year warranty
and is excellent in their support for the roaster. Here is the Sweet
Maria's Hearthware Gourmet Model adjustments and tips information page. We
are re-stocking the Gourmet model again due to the absence of the Precision
model (which is permanently out of stock from Hearthware!) This time around, the
price is much lower though: the Gourmet with coffee selection was $111,
now $72.50. Gourmet without coffee was $101, now $62.50! These are the same prices
as the Freshroast Plus model.

Hearthware
Gourmet Roaster:
$72.50(+
11 lbs. shipping), and that includes the 8-Pack Sampler: our selection of
4 lbs. of coffee (8 different 1/2 lb. types) from Sweet Maria's excellent
stocks. You also get to chose the type of coffee included, for Brewed Coffee,
Espresso, or Decaf

For Information on the Hearthware
Home Innovations Precision Model (now out of stock from Hearthware) Click
Here!

Bits of Hearthware to
Spare

We only stock
parts for the Hearthware Gourmet.

We are completely out of stock on the
Hearthware roast chambers and chaff collectors. Hearthware may still have
stock - they definitely have parts for warranty repairs. You should contact
them directly at <customerservice@hearthware.com>
or 888-287-0763. . Or you can
look at their web site <www.hearthware.com>. - Maria 2/17/03